A bachelor’s pass does not guarantee admission to a university or to a specific programme, says Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela after complaints that universities are locking out more than 100,000 applicants. With more than 340,000 bachelor’s passes recorded nationwide and only about 235,000 spaces available across South Africa’s public universities, Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela said the system simply could not absorb every qualifying applicant. This comes after an outcry that the department is locking out more than 100,000 deserving and qualifying matric students who want an opportunity to study at tertiary institutions.
During a media briefing on Thursday, 22 January, Manamela said there would be a friendly tussle with the Basic Education Department because a bachelor’s pass, or categorising a pass as a bachelor’s, created an expectation that did not necessarily conform with university rules. “It’s also critical to clarify a persistent misunderstanding. A bachelor’s pass does not guarantee admission to a university or to a specific programme.
Secondly, an Admission Point Score (APS) does not necessarily guarantee someone a space for that particular programme… I think it’s important that we make that particular emphasis, and that on its own has exerted pressure. We’ve been having fights with parents, and we’re going to have fights with parents into the coming week, until the university system begins to admit students,” said Manamela. In a Daily Maverick opinion article, Zanele Ngcobo and Nicky Roberts outlined the essential matter that parents, teachers and pupils overlooked.
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A common misconception is that achieving a matric bachelor’s pass indicates strong academic merit. However, this pass level simply denotes a minimum eligibility threshold for university entry. The Department of Basic Education’s pass structure shows that a bachelor’s admission pass equates to only 23 APS points.
While this minimum APS meets the requirement for a bachelor’s pass, it is generally not competitive for university placement. Most university programmes typically require a minimum APS of around 28, with highly selective degrees, such as those in health sciences, commerce and engineering, often demanding substantially higher scores. Universities echoed the minister’s message, pointing to strict capacity limits and enrolment targets set by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).
University of Western Cape spokesperson Gasant Abarder said that the university had received more than 177,000 first-year applications, with 4,715 places available. “The number of places is determined in consultation with the Department of Higher Education and Training,” said Abarder.
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